Myeongdong Cathedral

명동성당

Myeongdong Cathedral is the national cathedral of the Archdiocese of Seoul and a symbol of the Catholic Church in Korea. It stands on a hill in the Myeongdong neighbourhood of Jung District, Seoul, South Korea. Its full name is the Cathedral Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception.

See it on the 3D globe →

At a glance

Country: South Korea
Location: Myeong-dong, Seoul, South Korea
Built: 1898
Height: 45 m
Type: Religious building

Quick answers

Where is Myeongdong Cathedral?

Myeongdong Cathedral is in Myeong-dong, Seoul, South Korea.

When was Myeongdong Cathedral built?

Myeongdong Cathedral was built in 1898.

How tall is Myeongdong Cathedral?

Myeongdong Cathedral is about 45 m tall.

Korea's first Gothic Revival church, completed in 1898 in red and grey brick; its 45 m bell tower and spire rise above the Myeongdong hill.

It was built between 1892 and 1898 in the Gothic Revival style, the first large church of that kind in Korea, using red and grey brick. The bell tower rises about 45 metres. The South Korean government declared it Historic Site No. 258 on 22 November 1977. When it was finished it was the largest building in Seoul, and it is still a popular landmark for visitors.

Built on Bell Hill

In the 1880s a French bishop bought a vacant lot on a hill called Jonghyeon, meaning Bell Hill. Locals had not built there because a Confucian temple was nearby. Emperor Gojong first opposed a cathedral and even tried to slow the work, partly, accounts say, because it would stand higher than his palace.

He later agreed, and the cornerstone ceremony was held on 5 August 1892. It cost about 60,000 US dollars, with help from the Paris Foreign Missions Society. The First Sino-Japanese War delayed the opening until it was consecrated on 29 May 1898.

Looks and style

Gothic Revival churches use pointed arches and tall, narrow towers to draw the eye upward. Myeongdong Cathedral follows this style, using red and grey bricks. Brick repairs on the outer walls were completed in 2009.

Myeongdong is the first parish in Korea, meaning the first community church with a priest living there. Nearby are the archdiocese offices and a Pauline bookstore.

A place of protest and prayer

In the 1970s and 1980s, Catholic leaders were among the main critics of South Korea's military rule. The cathedral became a centre of pro-democracy protest and a safe place for protesters, and was nicknamed the Mecca of democracy activists. In 1987 about 600 student protesters held a hunger strike inside.

Today it holds Mass in Korean, with a Sunday-morning Mass for foreigners.